THE NEED FOR POLICEWOMEN

Evening Star, Issue 16263, 4 November 1916, Page 2

THE NEED FOR POLICEWOMEN

Following up the."article on this question which last week appeared over his own name in our columns, the editor has placed himself in communication with a number of recognised local workers in the cause of Social Reform, aiid has besought tbem to state publicly whether, in their judgment, the proposal of the Attorney-General to increase the number of police matrons in the Dominion will provide an effective check on—or even minimise—existing evils. The replies, which, speak for themselves, are appended: The proposal of the Government to appoint additional women as police matrons is not what is wanted, and is a " beginning at the ' wrong end," because these "matrons" will not realise the ideaj. When I was president of the Old Prison Reform League we discussed this question, and I am sure that our opinion was that what was wanted was " women to save women from falling, and not women to take them in hand after they had fallen." You once summed up the whole position in a memorandum in these words, with which I cordially agree, and which put my views better than 1 could have put them myself: What is needed is tactful, intelligent women, who will wisely direct girls and young women who are disposed to be ilighty, or who may liave already started on that dangerous path that inevitably l*..ds to moral ruin—women who will help their erring sisters at every turn, and do their utmost to stop the 'making of criminals and moral derelicts, rather than care for them after they have become such and are a perpetual burden on the State. The fact is that mothers neglect their plain duty of teaching their "daughters what they should know about sex functions. Hence girls so often from ignorance or from curiosity, or from a desjro to obtain knowledge of their sex functions, start on a path which leads to their fall. To help such we need women who will imp;ess upon girls the high ideal of the duties of woman, her place as '' tho maker of men," what tho race has alwavs owed to its good mothers, that woman is a being to .be worshipped bv man, and therefore must be worthy of 'such worship. The war iias taught that there ought to be. no "unemployablcs" or" undesirables," and that it is tho fault of us all that there have been or are such. The same applies to "undesirables" and worse among women. We have to prevent "imemployables" aud "undesirables" in each sex. As regards women, (he need is for the appointment of'the stamp of woman outlined in the above quotation from a memorandum of yours. . Whilst on this'subject of women, there is another need that the Government should turn their attention to at the same time—viz., the provision of motherly women as helpers in the families of men with limited means. The work of our maternity homes is excellent, but when a man's wife is therein ho needs someone to look after his home and his children. He cannot pay maternity fees and such a helper"; nor should he be expected to run into debt to do so. Whilst his wife is laid up he must have attention for his home and family; the State should provide this. Wjt. CUHZOX-SIGGERS, President Society Protection of Women and Childre'n. ******* It seems to me that the AttorneyGeneral (judging bv his remarks to 'a recent deputation at Wellington) has failed to grasp the true reason and meaning of the request for women police. His answer that " the case could be met by appointing extra police matrons" proves' conclusively that he has not realised the special work for which it is asked that women should I be appointed. Prison matrons are, or should be, specially adapted and trained in the care of criminnl women, but, instead of more police matrons being needed, those who are interested in the subject hope that, if the request is granted, as time goes on the need for this class of prison officer will cease to exist. We want women appointed not to care for criminals, but whose work it will be to prevent women and girls from coming to this unhappy condition. The women to be appointed must he very specially qualified for the posts they are to fill. They must bo tactful, discreet, silent women, of high moral and religious character, having a great love for those who are under temptation. ' It will be their duty to ""'mother " those who they see are in need of help, and take steps to guard them from those'who would lead them astray. Although having the full powers of a police constable, thev should not bo uniformed, but act more in"a secret capacity. They would then act as a valuable aid to the existing criminal investigation department, as they would be able to gather evidence which it is almost impossible for a man to get, as, for instance, in cases of houses where it is suspected that illecral operations are carried on; or in parks/which are a menace to the morality of the community, owing to the facilities for tho unscrupulous to indulge in lust. They would be able to visit places of amusement, where girls so often go unattended, and warn such ones as thev saw were making undesirable acquaintances. In certain cases they would be able to get from their- own sex evidence which, even on oath, many women would never give to a man. The question of women police opens up the far wider one of women juries, but as that is outside the present subject I will not deal with it further. Although under the control of the police authorities, it would be essential that the "vigilance women," to give them a new title, should have an office quito apart and distant from the existing police stations. .. If this were not tho case, female witnesses, complainants, etc... would not be found so Teady to tender assistance. Most women dread a police station more than anything else. The request for a female branch oE the polico service is no new one, a.s for some yeai's it has been urged by the local Society for the Protection of Women and Children. Time after time men and women have escaped from justice through lack of evidence which could have only been obtained by a woman. V. Bryan Krxrj, President Dunedin Men's Mission. Dear sir,—ln my opinion the reply that the Attorney-General gave to the deputation of ladies who waited on him at Wellington the other day wds not only wholly unsatisfactory, but was an insult to the intelligence of all women who are tryin«to grapple with social problems. Our organisation was not aware that additional police matrons were required ; in any case their duties ara confined to the courts and the prisons. What is reI quired at the present time is a number of I policewomen, who, by their wise counsel, will be able to prevent girls from becoming immoral, and will help to save them from swelling the ranks of the criminal class. Let me illustrate my argument bv personal experience which points its own moral. Only last night I was returning from, Port Chalmers at about a quarter to 11 o'clock. In the Octagon I saw two little girls, who at that advanced hornought to have been in their beds. They were giggling and larking with a soldier. Now, m this particular case the first dutv of a policewoman (had there been one in the locality) would have been to have cleared these children—for such they really were—off the streets, and (if necessarv'l to have taken them to their fiomes. Such women would be invaluable in patrolling the neighborhood of military camps, and in preventing girls and young women' from making themselves free with our soldiers. Will the Attorney-Genera] trouble himself .to get in touch with social reformers of tho calibre of Ladv Stout, Mrs 4 It Atkinson, Mrs Dr Platts-Mills, and scores of other good women and true resident in Wellington, and ascertain from them what has been tho actual condition of affairs in Wellington since the war began? If he really wants .testimony as to the need for policewomen, I could myself put him in touch with some mothers in Palmerston JSorth from whom he would hear harrowing stories of quite young girls who have been led astray either through frequenting the military camps, or who from lack of parental control have been allowed to

prowl through the streets of big towns instead of being properly housed and cared for in their own homes. \ •" The politician who from his place in the House of Representatives asked "How would a woman arrest a drunken man?" only displayed his crass ignorance, for the policewoman has nothing whatever to do with the arrest of intoxicated men. Her "raison d'etre" is wholly and solely preventive, and she will only concern herself witli her own sex. But 'that is the kind of silly argument that is sometimes advanced to block the progress of every useful reform. When Dr Sheldon, of Kansas (U.S.), was being entertained some little time since in the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association in our City, he told his-entertainers how " he had taken part in the appointment of two women police officers—the first policewomen to be appointed in the United States. They worked in two shifts: one in the daytime, the other at night. After the cur-few-bell rings the policewoman' goes into the parks and city reserves, in order to see that all children of tender years are indoors. These policewomen instruct all girls on sex questions—an example that may well be followed in .this Dominion. They meet all arriving trains, and see that girls coming into the town go direct to proper places of abode, and they have to deal (inter alia) with the housing problem. The young women of the city look upon the policewomen as their 'friends and advisers in general. The policewomen who have been appointed in Kansas and Toronto (Canada) are' college graduates. I know that I agreed most heartily with the sentiment expressed by Dr Sheldon on that occasion, when he said: "We train missionaries and send out our best talent to convert and civilise the heathen, but how much more necessary is it to train both men and women, in order that they may use their knowledge to prevent crime and to help to make good citizens." The organisation which I represent thinks that there is no.social reform more pressing than the due acknowledgment of the part our women have, taken in furthering the cause of Empire, and we had a right to expect from a so-called National Government some recognition of our services. That recognition should come in the appointment of women police, the presence, of women as jurors in all eases of assault on members of their sex, the appointment of women justices in our largo cities, and the appointment of women as official visitors to our prisons, gaols, and mental hospitals. RACnrx Dov (President W.C.T.U. of New Zealand). ******* Dear sir,—ln reply to your inquiry, I would like to say that I most emphatically agree with you tliat the real need, in helping young girls to keep the straight path, is the appointment of intelligent and tactful women to the Police Force. Police matrons are, of course, necessary, but in quite a different way, as their sphere of usefulness lies along a- different path. I came into very close touch lately with a case in which policewomen would have been of invaluable help. A young girl, whose mother lived in Christ-church, was down here with a young man who was in the hands of the police. She came under my notice, and the detectives consulted me about her movements. They tried to keep in touch with her- to warn her oft' this man, and to keep her*in the straight path, but naturally she was sensitive about, being advised as to her morals by men. A woman would have been so very much more to the point. I think the present time is most favorable for the appointment of women to the Police Force. Even were it only to enable more men to go to the "war, it would_ bo a measure worthy of support. And is not this an opportune time for advocating insistently and persistently that women should be employed wherever" practicable—to dc, as they are capable of doing, much, of the work now performed by men. Conservative Old England and France risen to the needs of the hour, and have got women almost by the million to do the work o f men. But out here, in progressive New Zealand, where the conditions of the country are such as to make our women more able to turn their hands to any kind of work than the Englishwoman, our women ar o still idling away their days (except for patriotic sewing), while the men, who should be at the front, still do women's light work in shops, offices, and factories. We have not yet got a grip of the available, energy of our country. To return, however, to the original subject. The Society for the Protection of Women and Children have for somo time advocated the appointment of women police. Our president (Canon CurzonSiggers) has represented to the Government the need for this measure, and our ■ secretary _(Mrs Ansell-Dobson) is from experience in Dunedin in an excellent position to supply the authorities with innumerable instances in which policewomen would be of the greatest possible help in social work. You are at perfect liberty tr> use my name, not onlv as nn advocate of the reform, but as one who has had personal experience of cases where such women would be invaluable. E. H. SIKDEBF.RG, M.D. * * * * * * ' * Dear sir,—l have read with much interest the reply of the Attorney-General to the representative deputation 'at Wellington who asked him to bring under tho notice of Cabinet the necessity for establishing women police, and am quite satisfied that tho hon. gentleman has failed to grasp the importance of this request. Whilst persuaded that great judgment is necessary in taking the proposed forward step, I speak from practical experience (extending over the past 15 years), tho outcome of my work among the masses; therefore I say most emphatically that the time lias arrived; when the Government should decide to appoint in each of our principal centres a lew "discreet" women to deal with girls and children—to act more in the way of deterrents against the actual commission of offences rather than to detect the offender after a crime has been committed. True .that thero are many excellent philanthropic societies working among us that do noble work by caring for children or helping to guide young girls in treading the right path, but there is no recognised woman—beari ing the stamp of authority—who can be ! consulted on occasion by the representatives of these organisations. Then these broad-minded, useful members of the community could, without fear, place their difficulties before such a "discreet" member of their own sex, and tho combined judgment of this official and the male head of her department would arrive at the solution of most problems. From my own personal experience, I have no hesitation in saying that it 'vyould not be advisable at the present time to employ women in ordinary polico duties of any kind. What is wanted, in my opinion, is a woman inspector, who could he approached at any time, instead of the societies! I have' mentioned having, as at present, to place their grievances before male officials. This inspector would at all times be entitled to consult the chief police) officer of her district lor guidance and assistance. She should bo empowered to deal with all girls and young women who are likely to become sources of trouble, and with all children whoso conduct is likely to cause sorrow to their parents. From my viewpoint it would be wiser to make a start by employing in the direction thus indicated a woman of broad ideas and good powers of discrimination rather than to open up a new field of employment for a number of inexperienced, tactless women. This female inspector, when she was thoroughly conversant with her duties, would he in a good position to suggest to the authorities likely candidates for this special branch of work, as her activities would bring her into contact with women whose mental bent and knowledge of the problems of life fit them to become useful auxiliaries of the Police Force. I am firmly of opinion that the employment of more- police matrons is not what present-day conditions require, ' as the duties apportioned to these women do not allow them any time to give to much outside work. It is the woman's influence outside of the precincts of the courthouse or tho gaol that is needed, in order to prevent so many of those very cases that come under the care of these women. In a word, I would sooner see women

appointed to act as probation officers rather than -as policewomen in the ordinary sense of the term, and the Commissioner of Police must accept full responsibility for every such appointment. Whilst I agree with the deputation that there is pressing need., for immediate action, I think the reform should take the direction I have suggested. The selection of the women must be made with the greatest care, and the appointees must be endowed with some measure of authority derived from the State, which creates them and should pay them an adequate salary. A. Axsell-Hodsox. Secretary of the -Society for Protection of Women and Children. *■** * * # # Dear Mr Editor,—l have carefully read what you wroto in last Saturday's "' Star' re women police. It seems to me that this is one of tho social reforms that, like so many others, when it is proposed appears to be so reasonable and so right the wonder is nobody had thought of urging it long years ago. The attitude of the Minister ie not that which should bo taken by a progressive administrator. It would have answered admirably half a century ago, perhaps, when Ministers were notoriously hidebound,' without breadth of view, and without any real anxiety about anything that would lead them to trouble themselves in disturbing the established order of tilings. But somebody must move the powers that bo to do their duty towards the women of this Dominion, and the Press must once more show that the real power has passed from the politician. No other organisation can exercise such effective pressure on the Cabinet. Tho question has long passed the stage of discussion. The only concern with the State is and ought to" be: Itow to get the right class of woman, and then set her to work. It is preposterous that men only should have to deal with women, especially policemen, most of them lacking i)i the finer feelings that would enable them, to deal with women or girls whose faces are turned in tho wrong direction. We shall never get things set even moderately right till we havci women, not only as police, but women on tho Bench and women in our Legislature. The tyranny which she has had to endure by man-made legislation and administration of justice is dreadful to contemplate. It is permitted us to think that after this war is over, when, nations have seen what woman can do. there will be a new order of things. I am presuming you are not in favor of t,ho voluntary system in vogue at -Home. I do not think that system"will be effec-tive—-at any rate, not nearly so effective as one that gives an oflicinl status to the female officer. Our community ought not to be appealed to for funds to establish a woman volunteer ' police force. If it is established at all it ought to ho a civic or national appointment. A volunteer association of this sort may do very good work for a whilo, so long as the original impulse lasts, and a number of good people keep whipping up the oomimiliity to its support. But there is a limit to that sort of thing, and philanthropic appeals for support only reach a comparatively few in the community, while the selfish individuals, who create the atmosphere that makes it easy for girls to go astray, escape all responsibility. It is a national duty, and therefore ought to be shouldered by the State. The chief difficulty is that of getting the right woman. Everything depends on that. And there is just the danger that the system may be prejudiced at the start by a mistake in selection of the woman. But that will right itself, and I have little doubt that, given the justice and righteousness of the reform, the qualified agents will be forthcoming. One's heart sinks sometimes as he sees the crowds of boys and girls and young women that throng the picture shows and parade the streets till late at night, without any real home guidance or control; for, after all, if tho homes fail us we are doomed. And the prospect of these young people becoming fathers and mothers, to breed more and worse children, is appalling. We must concentrate more and more upon tho homes or upon those who are to make tho homes in the future. But, meanwhile, we have to deal with generations of irresponsible and careless young people—the product of cither vicious or merely worldly hemes—and this fact dictates the employment of women polioe for such a purpose. In this matter, as in a good many others, I would prefer to follow the United States rather than Britain as a guide, because tho conditions of life hore--the mcntfJ alacrity, the parental carelessness, and the climatic influences—all suggest American methods rather than the slow, conservative traditions and precedents of Britain. Tho latter country is too lumbering in her movements to i>o a true guide to the full, swift life of the Overseas Dominions. _ We are out here to make precedents rather than to follow them, and in .Social Reforms it is experiment and not a priori reasonings that must be our final guide. RcTrtEwonn Wat>dh,l, Minister of St, Andrew's, Dunedin.